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For a long time, when I walked down the street, I would walk with my head looking down at my feet. Why? I wasn’t walking by faith. Instead of using the cane I received from CNIB to guide me, I took matters into my own hands. 

One sunny day in February, during COVID, I was wearing a face mask and sunglasses. My eye doctor wanted me to protect my eyes by wearing sunglasses as much as possible. Well, for some reason, the face mask caused my breathing to fog up the sunglasses. While I thought I was crossing the street at an intersection, I heard a man yelling from his car, “You are walking down the middle of the road.” 

A couple seconds later, a lady grabbed my arm and guided me back to the sidewalk. 

I thanked her, but I was now unaware of where I was. 

After removing the face mask and sunglasses, I was able to determine where I was and I proceeded to my destination. From that moment on, I began walking with my head down watching my feet. 

But my CNIB counsellor encouraged me to walk with my head up. 

Once you get into a habit, it is hard to break. In my mind, I had all kinds of reasons why I needed to walk with my head down. 

My counsellor only had one reason for walking with my head up. 

“Let the cane be your eyes. Trust in the cane and it won’t let you down. You can do it,” she said, “I know you can.” 

She gave me the dose of faith I needed to hear. She honestly believed I could learn to walk with my head up, trusting the cane to tell me how I was doing. 

Every time I go for a walk outside, I am reminded of the faith I need to apply. I just wish I had the confidence to do it constantly. I try, but sometimes I find myself looking down and I have to remind myself, “Look up!” 

Do you have a habit that is hard to break? Do you have all kinds of reasons why you can’t change? Perhaps you too, need a dose of faith to help you. It can be an ongoing struggle, but it starts with you having faith in someone who is greater than yourself. 

Proverbs 3:5–6

[5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

[6] In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)

When Brenda and I with our three children headed west, we ended up in a little town of less than one thousand people called Hudson Hope. The main reason for its existence is to serve as a hydro town for the W.A.C. Bennett dam. This imposing structure is one of the largest earth filled hydroelectric dams and it holds in check the third largest man-made lake in North America, called Williston Lake. It was built in the 1960s and is responsible for one-third of the B.C. lower mainland’s clean energy. We lived downstream from this monster! 

One summer a tourist was crossing the dam and noticed something strange. He went back to the visitor centre and reported what he had seen. Of course they were skeptical; what would he know? He happened to be the engineer responsible for the dam some 30 years ago! Of course, the possibility of the dam failing hit the news. Tourists started to come to visit, and the town started to prepare for the worst. 

Every Tuesday night after supper, the volunteer fire department had their practice session and tested the siren. It wailed for a couple of minutes at 6:45. As an emergency preparedness, the town was instructed to evacuate if the siren hit the highest sound and did not drop. Worst case scenario: 20 minutes to clear out of town and there was only one road. 

With all this in mind, one evening we were enjoying supper when we heard the siren go off. At first no one seemed worried until the wailing did not vary from that one high pitch! 

I sat there frozen, fork in hand, halfway to my mouth! Four sets of eyes were looking at me. “What night is it?” I asked all assembled. It was Wednesday. At once five chairs began to move just as the siren’s wail broke and took on its familiar call to the volunteer firemen. What a relief. 

It seems that in the spiritual realm we take much for granted. We go about our daily lives without really considering them in a greater context. You might be familiar with Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. 

As the 10 virgins waited for the arrival of the bridegroom, they apparently had a job to do. But as time passed five of them got lazy and did not keep their supply of oil with them while the other five did. When the bridegroom finally arrived only five were prepared and were able to enter his presence while the other five were excluded. While we may not fully understand all the dynamics of the story in its ancient middle east context, we can understand Jesus’ intent: be ready! “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matt.25:13) 

We are part of the church of Jesus Christ and together as a church family, as well as individually, we must be prepared as if the dam is going to break at any time. Yet it seems that we are more worried about: 

Our wardrobe choice than our witness; 

Our musicology than our message; 

Pacifying than preaching. 

If you think that I am being harsh, remember that I was the one who sat with the fork to his mouth, responsible for four souls and not ready. 

Peter said: “always be ready to give a defense.” (1 Peter 3:15) Paul said: “I am now ready to be offered.” (2 Tim 4:6) 

The world is sitting on a powder keg and often its attention is being leveled towards the church in many ways. How then can I be ready? Here is a Daily Preparedness Action Plan: 

1. Live your worship. Be a doxology to God in all you do. 

2. Share your witness. Learn to give your testimony. Practice your testimony in 60 seconds or less. It is a treasure you cannot keep! 

3. Watch, prayerfully. In the garden while Jesus prayed the disciples slept. “Watch and pray” Jesus said. 

In preparation for this Challenge, I read an internet piece that later downplayed the urgency of the situation. All I could think of was that Wednesday night and hearing that siren, knowing that I wasn’t ready for what might have been ahead for me and my family. How much more serious is the spiritual warfare in which we find ourselves today? Are you ready?

The book of Psalms, with its rich and relatable content, mirrors our human experiences. The Psalmists, in their raw and honest expressions, cover a wide spectrum of emotions that we all experience. Love, anger, frustration, delight, fear, doubt, despair, praise, and hope are just a few that find their voice in this book. 

Recently, I read the last five chapters of Psalms. These Psalms have a recurring theme – Praise the Lord! These praise Psalms seem fitting when everything is going smoothly in our lives, but sometimes, this type of passage doesn’t align with how we feel. How do we praise the Lord in seasons of grief, uncertainty, and loss? This can seem a little phony. Is God telling us to paint on a plastic smile no matter what? Is this suggesting a “fake it ’till you make it” Christianity? 

While it is true that you may not want to recite these chapters at a loved one’s funeral or send them in a text to someone who just lost their job, I noticed something (specifically in chapter 146) that made me think differently about this command to praise the Lord even if our circumstances are heavy. 

Psalm 146:5 says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” 

“Blessed” here means happy. Ooh, we all want to be happy. Sign me up! 

Let’s remember that Biblical happiness is not dependent on circumstances (see Ps.16:8-9 and Eph. 3:14-21). Rather, it is an inner joy and strength that comes from knowing the heart and character of God. 

Who is this happiness in Psalm 146:5 promised to? – the one who needs help (wading through heavy circumstances) and looks to the God of Jacob for help. 

So, what’s the plan here? How does one get in on this happiness? When they intentionally choose to put their hope in the Lord their God. Interestingly, this verse is written to instruct those who know God as their Lord. 

The Lord is their God, indicating a personal relationship. 

But why should we put our hope in God? The longer we live, the more we have felt the brunt of disappointment when what we hoped for didn’t happen. This makes us want to flip back and read one of those Psalms of lament! However, hope in is different than hope for. 

Often, as people with sinful natures (we are redeemed, but not yet wholly sanctified) living in our modern, secular, “you can have it all” culture, we hope for the glamourous and glitzy. We hope for success, fame, money, popularity, etc. The bottom line is we often are hoping for ideal circumstances for the entirety of our lives. But that is never promised to God’s children (see Jesus’ words in John 16:33). 

Hope in holds a different meaning. Again, this can be misplaced. We can hope in our job as a means to stability. We can hope in our strengths, intellect and abilities to make it to the top and be noticed. Psalm 146:3 instructs us not to trust in or put our hope in princes or other humans. You may not be trusting in a prince, but perhaps you are trusting in a government program, or maybe the one you are trusting or hoping in is yourself. Deep down, we all desire to be our own god, call the shots, and be autonomous. Hope in another human always ends in disappointment. People let us down, programs devised by other humans let us down, and we let ourselves down. Humans are limited. 

You may be wondering where the hope is here. This is getting pretty gloomy. We have hashed out how much we need help and identified false sources of hope. Let’s go back to verse five and remember God promises happiness to those who put their hope in the Lord their God. How can we know that putting our hope in the Lord will pan out for us? Are we at risk of being disappointed again? 

The remainder of this Psalm gives us truths about God that assure us that He is the source of true hope. What do we learn about God? Why is the Psalmist so confident we should put our hope in Him? 

Our God is: 

1) The Creator (v. 6). He made heaven and earth and all that is in them! 

2) The Faithful One (v. 6). The CSB reads, “He (God) remains faithful forever.” He always keeps His promises! 

3) Just (v. 7). “He executes justice for the oppressed.” 

4) The Provider (v. 7). “He gives food to the hungry.” God knows and provides for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. 

5) The Deliverer (v. 7). Our God “sets prisoners free.” He releases us from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bondage. 

6) The Healer (v. 8). He opens the eyes of the blind. 

7) The Sustainer (v. 9). He lifts us up when we lack strength. 

8) The One Who Loves (v. 9). Our God “loves the righteous.” His love for His children is unconditional and unlimited! 

9) Our Overseer (v. 10). God watches over us. 

10) Our Helper (v. 10). He helps those who are in need. 

11) The King Forever (v. 10). Our God will reign forever! 

There truly is no one like our God (Ps. 89:8-13)! 

We will walk through difficult times; perhaps that is where you find yourself today. God’s Word directs us to remember Who our God is and what He has done for us. Regardless of our circumstances, we, like Jeremiah, can say, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:21-23).

I enjoy a good dragon story. I remember reading excitedly about the mythological many-headed Hydra, Beowulf’s fight with the dragon, Tolkien’s Smaug in The Hobbit, and Lewis’ Eustace-turned-dragon in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 

I used to have a large poster in my workshop of a sky-scraper-sized dragon blowing fire at a single shield-bearing knight. They stood on a battlefield filled with the smouldering rubble of the dragon’s conquest. The tenacity of the knight and the apparent hopeless-ness of the scenario made me wonder how the artist imagined the scene would end. Would the knight be overwhelmed or somehow win? 

Here, in brief, is the best dragon story. I read it this week in Revelation 12: 

There was a great seven-headed red dragon who gathered an evil army from the stars. He stood ready to devour the newborn child of a magnificent pregnant woman who was crowned with stars and clothed with the sun. But when this special child—one who would “rule all the nations” (Rev. 12:5)—was born, God snatched him away from the dragon’s jaws and brought him safely to his throne in heaven. 

Isn’t this a unique way of telling the Christmas story? The dragon story continues: 

The magnificent woman, seeing her danger, fled into the wilderness while the dragon incited a doomed war on heaven itself. The dragon with its army was thrown down to earth, its defeat was broadcast, and salvation was announced through the arrival of the child’s kingdom. Those who love the child more than their own lives are declared to be conquerors of the dragon. Heaven celebrates victory while the world braces for trouble since the dragon has come down “in great wrath because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12) 

What an unexpected way to tell the Easter story! The child is called the “Lamb” (Rev. 12:11) and the text clarifies that the dragon is indeed “the devil and Satan” (Rev. 12:9). And still the dragon story continues: 

The great red dragon, unable to devour the child or conquer heaven, hunts the magnifi-cent woman relentlessly across the earth, but God rescues her. Impotent in all his pursuits, the dragon’s fury turns to “the rest of her offspring … who … hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). 

This dragon story turns out to be a surprisingly applicable summary of human history. Satan, it turns out, is a muzzled accuser; an exposed deceiver; a frustrated dragon. All he can do is rage against us—Jesus’ church. But even this he does while standing “on the sand of the sea” (Rev. 12:17)—on the unsteady sandy ground at the edge of the sea’s imminent chaos. He cannot win. We cannot lose. 

Are you wondering if your shield will hold up to whatever fiery inferno is coming at you? I sometimes wonder that too. But this—the best dragon story—reminds me that we can start learning how to smile, even in the heat of dragon fire, because we walk with Jesus. 

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testi-mony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!” Revelation 12:11-12a

“I believe grace is everywhere. It is all around us. If only we had the humility to acknowledge our need and take advantage of it.” 

I wish I had said that.  

It is a line offered by a minor character in a period rom/com which otherwise followed the cliche pattern of girl meets boy, they apparently dislike each other until they realize they are in love. Then there is a serious misunderstanding and… oh never mind, you know the rest. 

There was one plot twist where the writers spring a wholly unsatisfying ending upon you (my wife protested immediately) before jumping ahead two years and making all things perfect again.  

“Grace is everywhere. It is all around us.” 

2 Corinthians 9:8–9 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (ESV) 

Imagine: all sufficiency, in all things, at all times. 

Of course, we declare that when Scripture uses the words “all things” it means exactly that. Good times, hard times, sickness and health, trials, tribulations, good things, bad things. “All things.” 

I knew that, and yet I have discovered a new dimension to the meaning of God’s grace in “all things.” It apparently also includes when you get off track. Whether by sloth, fixing your eyes on your immediate circumstances, misunderstanding, falling into temptation and sin, or failing to live up to some self-contrived standard. When you spend your time in quiet desperation and shame. 

I have discovered that when I fall into this error, the Lord lets me scrape along for a little while before He grabs my attention through some unlikely means. While I am hiding and sewing together fig leaves, suddenly He calls my name. 

Let me give you one of those unlikely circumstances the Lord used to get my attention. 

I was flicking through YouTube, a little bored, when I stumbled across a video of an Australian nun giving a lecture somewhere. I don’t know why I paused to listen, but I did. 

She told a story about a sister who had gone to see an apparently renowned and very busy priest with the idea that he should become her spiritual director. 

When the priest asked her why he should do so, she replied that she had spoken to Jesus and that Jesus had given her his name. 

The priest, apparently not impressed, said “Sister, I want you to do something first. The next time you speak with Jesus ask Him to name the last sin I repented.” 

She said she would do so. 

When she returned, the priest asked if she had encountered Jesus again and asked the question. 

“I did,” said the nun. 

“So what did He say?” 

“Jesus said he didn’t remember.” 

I can’t tell you the effect that had on me. You know how you know a thing but, in fact, don’t? 

I’ve read the verses: 

Isaiah 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (ESV) 

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” (ESV) 

Hebrews 10:17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” (ESV) 

This idea that God doesn’t remember your sins if you repent is all over the Bible. 

Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (ESV) 

Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (ESV) 

Isaiah 38:17 Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. (ESV) 

To be fair, there will be some who counter that God does in fact remember all of your sins but doesn’t hold them against you. 

Whatever. To me the phrase, “I will not remember your sins,” means “I will not remember your sins.” 

And the Lord of Mercy knew I needed to think on that, to draw it into my life, to allow myself to realize God loves me, even me. 

And when I did, the sunshine and fresh air of heaven itself blew through the cobwebs and melted the chains I had tethered to my heart by my own failings. 

Here’s the thing. God found me while I was hiding.  

Sometimes we can forget that the grace of God abounds in “all things at all times.” 

If only we had the humility to acknowledge our need and take advantage of it. 

Matthew 28:20 (b) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)